If you love coffee, waffles, and bacon, why not infuse those flavors deep into your gums?  Not only will you get the satisfaction of a delicious breakfast aftertaste, but also great oral hygiene!  Each package contains the three flavors and each dispenses 12 yards of waxed dental floss.  $5.95 at Archie McPhee.

Starbucks is looking to expand once again, only this time in a bold new direction.  The company is testing a new concept to lure evening customers.  Starting next week, the new store, 15th Ave. Coffee and Tea inspired by Starbucks, will be launched in Seattle and will be offering customers not only coffee and tea, but also wine and beer.  Two other locations in Seattle have already been planned to outfit the new store, and if all goes well, expansion to other cities.

It looks like its current strategy in battling off the other two coffee behemoths (McD’s and Dunkin) isn’t panning out too well.  It’s a move that I didn’t anticipate from the company, after all, I thought they were trying to focus on what they knew best: coffee.

Source

Love Tea? Love Coffee?  How about both?  If you live in the New York City area, this event is for you!  I went last year and I enjoyed trying out different teas and coffees from all over the world.

Event: 4th Annual Coffee And Tea Festival NYC

Date: April 18-19, 2009

Place: Metropolitan Pavilion 125 W. 18th St. New York, NY  10011

Time: April 18, 2009 11am-6pm, April 19, 2009 11am-5pm

Website: www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com

Tickets: $20 for a full day pass (buy tickets online in advance and save $5 by using promo code FESTIVAL)

Event Description: OPEN to PUBLIC and TRADE

As seen on the Food Network’s hit show “Unwrapped”

New York City gears up for the 4th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival. This international extravaganza is a two-day festival celebrating everything related to coffee and tea. The event will showcase local and national coffee and tea companies who will provide samples to attendees and will include two days of programming on various topics related to coffee and tea.  Goodie bags for first 1000 each day.

Press Release:

March 23, 2009 – New York, NY. Starfish Junction Productions, producer of Coffee and Tea Festival NYC, is getting ready to pump caffeine into the veins of New York City residents and festival attendees at the 4th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC. This international extravaganza is being held on Saturday and Sunday, April 18th and 19th, 2009 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18 Street, New York, NY. The event is open to the public and the trade. www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com.

Selected as one of the 10 Best New York Events for April 2009, by www.10best.com, “the two day festival will be a celebration of everything related to coffee and tea,” said Lynda Calimano, Event Producer. “It is quite a unique show in that it is open to the public and the trade”, she added. The international lineup of exhibitors is sure to delight all that attend.

Included among the featured exhibitors for the 2009 show: Café La Paz, SerendipiTea, Omoma Coffee, Tay Tea, Tavalon, Jalima Coffee, Harney & Sons Tea, Green Mountain Coffee, Guayaki Yerba Mate, El Pedral Gourmet Coffee, Zen Green Tea Liqueur, Srina Tea, and Starbucks. The show will also feature some extraordinary products including Chip ‘n Dipped all natural cookies, Best Friends Cocoa, Biscottea, and Erica’s Rugelach.

With programming sponsored by Imbibe Magazine, the event offers two days of fun and interactive classes/lectures/demos from well-known industry pros and pioneers. Programming highlights include Coffee Cupping & Tasting hosted by Marcela Zuchovicki of Jalima Coffee; Afternoon Tea: Tips, Terms, and Traditions presented by tea authority, Ms. Ellen Easton; Home Roasting 101 presented by Donny Raus; Turkish Coffee & Culture presented by the Turkish Cultural Center; and two beautiful Korean tea ceremonies performed by Tea Master Yoon Hee Kim, U.S. Director for the Tea Culture Association of Korea and founding director of the Korean Tea Culture Foundation. Chef Melody, the Life Style and Chef/Food Reporter for the Saturday Home Show with Jerry Leen, heard every weekend on WOR Radio 710AM, will teach attendees how to think beyond the cup and incorporate coffee and tea into their favorite recipes.

The entire schedule of events and corresponding times can be found at the event website www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com. Attendance at the event programs is included in the nominal, $20 all-day-pass event admission fee.

Goodie bags will be distributed to the first 1000 attendees each day and will include samples from Adagio Teas, Celestial Seasonings, Chopsticks Magazine, Choice Organic Teas, The Tea House Times, Wholesome Sweetners, and others.

Tickets, which include sampling of the international lineup of coffee and tea exhibitors as well as attendance at the classes/seminars/demos, can be purchased at the event website: www.coffeeandteafestival.com.

Without a doubt, former Starbucks patrons unwilling to pay for a premium coffee product, have found refuge at McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts.  While it’s not the same product, it’s good enough to satisfy their coffee cravings.

So instead of saying ” I would like an Orange Mocha Frappuccino and an oatmeal raison cookie, I can just say, “I would like to have the number 2?”  I’m all for it.

Read

Upon hearing about bulgogi hot dogs from a friend some months ago, I was skeptical of a modern mish-mash between East and West.  I am familiar with the concept of fusion, but this just sounded ridiculous.

In one corner, a Western classic that’s as American as baseball.  In the other corner, a traditional Korean dish that is passed down from generation to generation.  How did the idea of intertwining the two items come about?  Was it from a stroke of genius, or a thought from half-baked randomness?

New York Hot Dog and Coffee has 107 branches in Korea, so the idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds.  It must be doing something right.  Last year, the company opened it’s first American branch in Greenwich Village in New York City.

I have confessed my love for bulgogi, but the hot dog on the other hand, is akin to having an illegitimate child begging for my attention.  I don’t remember the last time I had a hot dog, and I don’t miss it.

You see, hot dogs never did strike me as food, more like unwanted mixed and packed meat scraps that are reminiscent of my high school cafeteria’s mystery meat.  Yet, this odd couple has intrigued me, and has rattled my culinary curiosity.

After reading reviews and being somewhat satisfied by the ratings, I decided to venture out to New York Hot Dog and Coffee.  I would put my hot dog prejudice aside for the day.  Like drinking and driving, like fire and ice, like sleeping pills and laxatives, hot dogs and bulgogi don’t go together.

Or do they?

My fellow foodies Boon and Meishan came along for the ride.  As we approached the entrance, one of the employees opened the door and greeted us.  It was a quiet Saturday afternoon there and we didn’t see many customers.  Somehow I doubt there’s going to be door service if it gets really busy.

Adorned on the wall directly across from the counter, are larger than life pictures of people stuffing their faces with hot dogs.  One of the employees approached us and asked if we were first-timers.  Indeed, we were.  He told us that the most popular items on the menu was #6, the Bulgogi Hot Dog, and #7 the Kimchi Bulgogi Hot Dog.  Fair enough, #6 and #7 it is.  As we waited for the kimchi, bulgogi, and hot dogs to be cooked on the grill, we walked around the place and noticed a back room where the decor took a page out of a bar lounge.

When we received our food, we found our way to the back area.

Left: Kimchi Bulgogi Hot Dog, Right, Bulgogi Hot Dog

One of my friends was disappointed with the small amount of kimchi, so she went back to ask for more.  A wise decision.

It doesn’t hurt to ask for more kimchi, now that’s more like it!

We dug into the kimchi bulgogi hot dog first, because, well, because it’s pretty and colorful.  Surprisingly, the flavors went together rather well, and the toasted bun is a nice touch.  Each layer of flavor is easily distinguishable and the flavors don’t seem to overpower one another.  The hot dog, buried underneath the bulgogi, reminded me of 7/11’s Big Bite.

Closeup!

After eating the kimchi version first, the original bulgogi hot dog didn’t have as much of a flavor impact on the palette.   In fact, before the last bite of the second hot dog, I scooped up scattered bits of kimchi from the first hotdog and placed them into the bun.  Kimchi makes everything taste better.  It didn’t have the spiciness and savoriness of the first dog, but the sweetness of the bulgogi complemented the salty hot dog nicely.

Another closeup

In the end, we weren’t blown out of the water by this unlikely combination of meat, but it was good enough to warrant a future visit to the shop.  The Korean toppings on the hot dog are simply just that, toppings.  Think chili cheese dogs and you will understand.

New York Hot Dog and Coffee
245 Bleecker St
(between Carmine St & Leroy St)
New York, NY 10014
(917) 388-2608

~ Kin

A UK study at Durham University conducted on 200 students claims that those who have high levels of caffeine intake are more prone to having hallucinations.  It seems that high levels of caffeine causes extra sensory perceptions of hearing and seeing things that aren’t there…and even feeling the presence of dead people.  Students who consumed 7 cups of instant coffee or more per day, were three times more suceptible to having hallucinations, compared to those who cosumed only one cup of coffee per day.

The study didn’t focus on just coffee alone, as tea, caffeinated energy drinks, chocolate bars and caffeine pills were also thrown into the mix.

See, you’re not crazy, just lay off the java for a bit.

Better call the Ghostbusters in Tampa, Florida.

Read

McDonald’s has put up a billboard in Starbucks headquarter’s line of site.  Maybe it’s more of a kick in the gonads.  It’s an ad to remind the coffee fiends that they can still enjoy quality espresso without taking a hit in the wallet.  It seems like Starbucks is taking the abuse as another tv ad camapaign from Dunkin’ Donuts shows people prefering DD coffee over Starbuck’s coffee in a blind taste test.

Read more here

The arrival

The showcase, I thought there would be more vendors

Tavalon’s new product, tea gummy bears. I got a chance to sample the blueberry acai flavor. It actually had the taste and consistency of a gummy bear, but they were $5.00 for a small tin can. Pass.

SerendipiTea

That’s right, life is too short to drink shitty coffee. So go for broke and drink the good stuff.

Hot Cocoa – It wasn’t that good. It tasted like Nestle Instant Cocoa

Sympatea Spoon Tea – For you lazies out there.

Mini tea biscuits -A real man needs an entire biscuit, not crumbs! Wait, do real men eat tea biscuits?

Tea Classic’s Hydrangea Tea – It was definitely a unique flavor. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s definitely acquired.

Tafu’s Tea Master roasting tea leaves

The “First” Green Tea Liqueur, or so we were told. The vendor mixed us a cocktail with green tea and a touch of lime juice. There was a strong matcha flavor, but the aftertaste reminded me of cough syrup.

~ Kin

The 3rd Annual Coffee & Tea Festival is coming in a couple of weeks! Check out the details from the website:

Thousands will gather for this New York event in Manhattan’s beautiful Metropolitan Pavilion to celebrate everything related to coffee and tea. The Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC will bring coffee, tea and confectionary vendors together and introduce them to sophisticated enthusiasts. Within the 30,000 Square foot exhibit space, attendees will enjoy:

- Coffee and tea sampling
- Lectures / Classes
- Shopping
- Contests
- Demonstrations
- Art
- Java/Tea Lounge with music & entertainment
- Funds will be raised for the official event charity, Cup for Education

So come join us for the 3rd Annual Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC! Don’t be the only one to miss the gourmet coffees, herbal teas and more offered at this popular New York City event.

Here are the logistics:

• Date: Apr 12, 2008 (Sat) – Apr 13, 2008 (Sun)
• Time: Apr 12: 11am-6pm; Apr 13: 10am-5pm
• Cost: $20.00
• Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
• Website: www.coffeeandteafestival.com

~ Kin